Telluride Film festival live - Waiting for Viggo...

To cover a festival is a sad mix of “Marathon Man” and “Apocalypse Now” combined : I have caught more Q&A sessions than screening of films. I haven't seen the latest movie by Jason Reitman "Up in the air" with George Clooney but I have heard Jason Reitman talk about it : “It is really the success of Juno that has allowed me to make this movie with the actors of my choice. As Michael Haneke (the director of the White Ribbon) said yesterday, the casting of a movie is really 2/3 of the movie done." The film was well received here but less than Juno (at least in Telluride).
Many people were annoyed by the product placement : "It is true", said Reitman, "that American airlines has provided a lot of support for the film. As a matter of fact and if you are travelling on American Airlines in the next few months, you will be able to hear me talk on one of the inflight audio channels about the soundtrack of the film."

Waiting for Viggo and the team from The Road (and seeing the Roadblock coming my way!!!) I sat down in the sun to eat a bagel, seeing Daryl Hannah cruising around, Helen Mirren very regal and Jacques Audiard flanked by his two usual suspects from A Prophet, the magnificent Tahar Rahim and the screenwriter Thomas Bidegain.

The tribute to Viggo Mortensen started with excerpts from “Witness”, “The Indian Runner”, “A walk on the moon”, “GI Jane”, “Lord of the rings”, “History of violence” and “Eastern Promises”… followed by the screening of “The Road” beautifully directed by the Australian director John Hillcoat (charming and sharp) and adapted from Cormac McCarthy's best-seller.
Cormac Mc Carthy should also have been in Telluride but had to stay in New-Mexico in order to work on a new project with Tommy Lee Jones, according to Ken Burns, one of the regular at Telluride and a wonderful and internationally recognized director of documentaries. “The Road” had a strong welcome in Telluride among the public and it is indeed a magical film (the cinematography is stunning), almost black and white in colours. I have heard people fighting over "depressing" vs "not depressing"... it is not a depressing movie, unless you leave before the end and one should never do that! With a little bit of luck, I will close my "Tellurique" coverage with an interview with The Road trio, unless I manage to catch Werner Herzog and get an update about the state of the iguanas!

Pour la version française voir http://sotinel.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/

Telluride Film festival live - Werner and all

To watch Todd Solontz last movie is a bit like watching a never ending car crash on the highway ! It leaves you with a feeling of gloom, mixed with horror. It is Todd Solontz's territory after all, the world of Happiness and Welcome to the dollhouse. A great big garbage (or recycling) can filled with America's lost cases, losers and pedophiles (mostly pedophiles). There is nevertheless a strange poetry in Solontz' films and even though his movies are not "easy" to watch, his work stays with you a long time. Todd Solontz was not attending Telluride, he was still in Venise.
The Prophet by Jacques Audiard was very well received by the public here. It seems that the title was not clear to many. When asked to explain a bit where the "prophet" fit into the film, Jacques Audiard went into a somersault, pirouette of an escape by saying "it's a beautiful word, a beautiful meaning in the large sense of the term". Indeed, but I am not sure this will fly on this side of the world.
Today (Saturday) opened with “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” by Werner Herzog with Nicolas Cage. Werner was still flying from Venise so Nicolas Cage talked at the end of the film. Bad Lieutenant would not be a Herzog film without a three minute sequence involving iguanas. As Nicolas Cage explained, "Werner told me, without the iguanas, my film doesn't make sense. I need the scene with the iguanas. There is actually more than the iguanas that make this film a Herzog film in spite of the more traditional filming this one has. As for Nicolas Cage, it is a delight to see him come back to roles where he excels. He is truly as good in Bad Lieutenant as he is in Leaving Las Vegas. There is a very strong Australian presence in Telluride this year and they (film makers, directors and actors) are by far the most approachable, normal, nice people! The documentary Making Samson follows the shooting of Samson and Delilah, by Warwick Thornton (which got a prize in Cannes last year). This documentary is a happy example of the movie making challenge adventure, even more so in the middle of Australia and with Aborigenes people who could care less about acting in a movie! It is very interesting to see Samson -the actor- becoming a "diva" along the way and as the film is made. He was 14 at the time of the movie. Today he is 16 and he laughs about this "attitude" he had during the film.
The good thing about attending Telluride Film Festival is that if you have missed the movie you can still go horseback riding in the mountains...
See photo with Laurie Lundquist (cavaliere extraordinaire), Marissa Gibson (Delilah in Samson and Delilah), Gabrielle Dalton (Australian film maker, actress) and Alexis Bloom (film maker, documentariste, journalist). Barbara Sukowa is not on the photo but she is ready to join the gang at the ranch !

Pour la version française voir http://sotinel.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/

Telluride film festival live - Demi Coco

It is a little bit unfortunate that the very elegant, beautiful and articulate Anne Fontaine had to mention the fact that the American Studios first choice for the role of Coco Chanel was Demi Moore ! The audience loved it and laughed but I couldn’t get Demi out of my head for a while. Meanwhile, Audrey Tautou IS Coco, the film has some Campion undertones which is ironic since Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” is playing in the movie theatre next door. Anouk Aimée watched the movie with her entouraaaage. Marco Bellochio couldn’t present his film in person so he sent a filmed message to the festival shown before Vincere, a film about Mussolini’s troubled, twisted and complicated personal life. Between Vincere, the White Ribbon, The Road, The Prophet and Todd Solontz’s Life During Wartime, the mood is less than joyful at the moment…


Pour la version française voir http://sotinel.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/

Telluride Film festival live - George Gittoes and the miscreants....

George Gittoes is Australian, he is a filmmaker, photographer, painter, adventurer and has just finished The Miscreants ot Taliwood, a “docu-fiction-mentary” about the film industry in Pakistan. His film talks about the raid and destruction of popular films made locally : the Talibans have annihilated this popular genre to replace it with snuff movies showing executions and torture… George Gittoes doesn’t hesitate to throw himself into the action no matter how risky and dangerous. He is more than an insider, he obviously cares deeply about his subject and the people who help him translate his vision of a world gone mad. Unlike observers he doesn’t hesitate and involves himself deeply in the subject he is tackling, sometimes risking his life and saving some. The Miscreants will be presented at the Amsterdam film festival in November and should then have a European life in terms of distribution. George Gittoes’ next documentary will take him to Afghanistan unless he goes to Somalia and Ethiopia on the footsteps of Rimbaud and some lost poetry… He actually owns a unique portrait of Rimbaud at age 16 (see photo) taken by Carjat, the photographer whose poetry Rimbaud declared “rubbish”…. But it’s another story and the reason why the portrait is slashed!
Works and excerpts of George Gittoes' works are on gittoes-dalton-films.com

Pour la version française voir http://sotinel.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/

Telluride film festival live - the beat my heart skipped

The beat my heart almost skipped or whatever it is but it is confirmed, Jacques Audiard and His Prophet will be at the festival. It is day 1 at Telluride and everything is going to start tonight with the beautiful Anouk Aimee and Lola by Jacques Demy. According to the little blue sticker on my press pass (the kind used at garage sales) I am allowed to take photos so if technology is with me, you'll have some photos tomorrow… No high tech here in Telluride and it's better that way. The look is definitely an outdoor one and you would be and feel ridiculous in your high heels (look who is talking!) and black leather urban style. The festival promises to be rich with The Road and the magnetic/magical presence of Viggo Mortensen, Margharete Von Trotta, Michael Haneke, Alexander Payne, Werner Herzog the divine/the one (easy to spot my preferences…). And tonight, the screening of Coco before Chanel and NOT Chanel before Coco as I keep repeating and since I cannot blame it on the jetlag, I will blame the altitude! The internet connections are rather rare in the Gold Rush country but as soon as I find a connection that is not in a corner on a tent by the ski-lift, I will resume and post and gossip and tell-it all!

Pour la version française voir http://sotinel.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/

Telluride Film Festival -2

The 36th Telluride Film Festival is about to open in Colorado and we still don't know much about the program. This festival loves to wrap itself in secrecy for several reasons : 1- no medals, prizes, awards , bear or palms of any kind, 2- it is pretty hard to get there and once there one must deal with altitude 3- it recruits its troops among film lovers and not among agents/paparazzi/journalists and can very well do without them indeed. You can follow the festival on http://telluridefilmfestival.org/ but there is nothing like experiencing it. We already know that there will be a tribute to the director Alexander Payne (Mr. Schmidt, Sideways) who has been in the news lately thanks to the popular new series on HBO, Hung (alias “Bien monté”) that he has directed at least for the pilot. Hung is a solid and powerful series which promises to be long and joyful!
A part from Alexander Payne, there are lots of rumors but nothing has been confirmed yet. It is more than probable that many films presented at the Cannes Film Festival last May will be presented but we don't know which ones. I can tell you for sure that Lars Van Trier will most certainly not be there to present Antichrist... knowing his phobia for air travel. Unless he is teleported, I can't see him reaching the summit. That said, there are always surprises in Telluride so you never know. It is one of the rare places on earth (if you don't include the tabloids) where you can see movie stars strolling on Main street wearing sneakers and holding a coffee in their hands.

Pour la version française voir http://sotinel.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/09/

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